38 funniest, loveliest, snarkiest and, yes, most bittersweet things people said about England finishing third place in the World Cup after that wild France game

England fans might be heartbroken about the team’s semi-final exit from the World Cup – but the Three Lions certainly went out with a roar in the third-place play-off on Saturday night.

The team beat France 6-4, with Bukayo Saka scoring a hat-trick – becoming just the second England player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup knockout match, after Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final. The only other player to score three against France in the World Cup was Pele in 1958.

Our #ThreeLions’ best finish at a @FIFAWorldCup since 1966 pic.twitter.com/84VCMfxJdy

— England (@England) July 18, 2026

The #ThreeLions‘ best-ever World Cup finish on foreign soil pic.twitter.com/AUVdkZzAGB

— England (@England) July 18, 2026

Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and man of the tournament Jude Bellingham scored the other three, and this third-placed bronze finish is England men’s best World Cup result since the 1966 win. Bellingham now has seven goals at this World Cup – the most of any England men’s player.

It might not be the colour medal they set out to win, but the smiles say it all #FIFAWorldCup #England #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/qtj4u2cCOb

— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) July 18, 2026

But amid the celebrations come even more questions about Thomas Tuchel’s tactics in the competition, as well as some bittersweet and some snarky comments about what might have been.

1.

France vs England was like…
pic.twitter.com/RQInbV9j1p

— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) July 18, 2026

2.

It was smart of Tuchel to rest Saka against Argentina so he could be fully fit for the third place playoff.

— Sam Dumitriu (@Sam_Dumitriu) July 18, 2026

3.

Good move not to have played Saka for a single minute of the semi-final to keep him fresh for the prestigious bronze medal match.

— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) July 18, 2026

4.

Best game at the World Cup so far. No referees controversies, no robberies. Just pure football and goals galore pic.twitter.com/k3vCbBuKyR

— (@heis_fede) July 18, 2026

5.

Well that was of its TITS good night LG x

— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) July 18, 2026

6.

i feel sorry for the people that decided not to watch this match because what the fuck is going on rn

— jada (@valeskestis) July 18, 2026

7.

Boys…. Where was this the other day?

— Carl Anka (@Ankaman616) July 18, 2026

8.

“A positive way to finish”

Harry Kane reflects on England’s World Cup journey, mistakes and their best ever finish on foreign soil

️ @gabrielclarke05 pic.twitter.com/izj6t1a9J9

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 19, 2026

9.

Don’t know what the fuck Tuchel is doing. Got to get all the strikers off and eight defenders on. We can still lose this 3-4 if we really try.

— Giles Coren (@gilescoren) July 18, 2026

10.

BBC commentator Steve Wilson makes a great point about the irrelevance of the WC third-place play-off.

“Do you remember who won this match in 2022? I had to look it up – Croatia beat Morocco. And I was commentating on it!”

— Nick Harris (@sportingintel) July 18, 2026

11.

HE TOOK A SAD SONG AND MADE IT BETTER https://t.co/oB0eKgtr0T

— mary (@theoceanblooms) July 19, 2026

12.

A seventh goal of the tournament for Jude Bellingham! 7️⃣⭐

The most EVER by an Englishman at a single World Cup pic.twitter.com/YACnNWvqW1

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 18, 2026

13.

Jude Bellingham has scored the most-ever goals in a single World Cup by an Englishman (7).

HE IS A MIDFIELDER pic.twitter.com/bLzLi7lTP7

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 18, 2026